Raj Thackeray denied bail, sent to jail for two weeks

Mumbai, Oct 21 : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has been sent to judicial custody till November 4 by a suburban magistrate's court in Bandra.

He was produced before the judge after being arrested by Mumbai Police from Ratnagiri earlier on Tuesday. He will stay in Kalyan jail.

The Police also imposed a two-month gag order on Raj thus preventing him from addressing public rallies and talking to the media.

His arrest has however triggered violence across Maharashtra, with police resorting to lathicharge in several parts to dispel the protesters. Heavy stone pelting by MNS supporters was also reported from outside the Bandra court where Raj is to be produced.

The police resorted to lathicharge at Bandra court, and also fired in the air in Malad to control the rampaging activists.

Mumbai DGP AN Roy said that the police would oppose bail for Raj in the court.

The Mumbai Police arrested Raj from a guest house in Ratnagiri after a case was registered against him following Sunday's attack by MNS workers on North Indian candidates appearing in a rail exam in suburb Kherwadi, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gaffoor said.

MNS activists involved in the attempted assault on candidates have also been arrested and police custody would be sought for all of them, the Commissioner said.

Raj has been charged under Sections 153, 353, 336, 425 and 427 of IPC, police sources said.

About 150 protesters were detained by police and taken away from the court in western suburb of the city.

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had said that the decision to arrest Raj Thackeray was not a sudden decision, and that nobody was above the law.

"This is not a sudden decision. We took this decision because nobody is above law. Law is same for everyone," said Deshmukh.

Raj Thackeray was arrested in Ratnagiri late on Monday night for brutal attack on north Indian rail exam candidates by MNS workers.

A case was registered against Raj Thackeray and his supporters after MNS activists attacked centres conducting railway recruitment examination in suburban Mumbai to protest against the "inadequate representation" to locals and chased away candidates from north India.

More than 30 MNS activists were arrested from Dombivali, Thane, Andheri and Nala Sopara for disrupting the exam, tearing test papers and pelting stones on candidates, police said.

On Monday, a court in Jamshedpur forwarded a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Raj Thackeray to Mumbai police.

The NBW has been issued against Thackeray for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Biharis. Mumbai Police said that the NBW would be executed this week.

The non-bailable warrant was issued by the court of first class judicial magistrate A K Tiwary on September 30 directing the MNS leader to be present before him on November 17.

The court directive came on a petition filed against Thackeray by Hammed Raza Khan, a lawyer, for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a section of society.

ANI